JOSH Reyes drew plaudits from Gilas Pilipinas interim coach Tim Cone after steering Gilas Youth to the semifinals of the 2023 Fiba Under-16 Asian Championships that earned them a ticket to the Under-17 World Cup for next year.
Cone on Josh Reyes' Gilas Youth success
Cone said he is happy for Reyes, who he thinks hasn’t gotten enough recognition as a coach not just in the youth team but also with the seniors squad including during the World Cup because he is the son of former national coach Chot Reyes.
“What an awesome thing that was,” said Cone following Gilas’ final practice on Saturday before leaving for the Asian Games. “I’m so proud of Josh. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves because he’s Chot’s son. He kind of grew up under the shadow of Chot and people see Chot and say, he is there because of Chot. But Josh, on his own, is a tremendous coach.”
Cone said that, unknown to many, the younger Reyes would usually run Gilas practices during the World Cup and even during the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia where they won the gold last May.
“In many respects, in terms of practice, he was like the head coach out there all the time with the World Cup team. He really does his thing. He does it well. He communicates well. He motivates well. He sees the game really, really well. And I think that’s just because he’s been around his dad growing up watching the game on his own. He just really sees the game really, really well. And he picks up on things,” said Cone.
“No one ever mentioned his name but yet he was the primary driver of that team in Southeast Asian Games and also in the World Cup,” said Cone.
It is this reason that Reyes remains part of the Gilas coaching staff even after his father stepped down as head coach after the World Cup.
“He picks up on things. He is part of our staff. He’s just not here yet. And that’s why I want him because he’s going to pick up things on Jordan and Thailand and teams like that that I don’t see,” said Cone.
Gilas Youth advanced to the semifinals and a showdown with Australia following two victories against some of the top teams in Asia. With the help of Kieffer Alas, Batang Gilas defeated Korea, 95-71, to qualify in the quarterfinals where they defeated Japan, 64-59, in a come-from-behind fashion.
Cone said Reyes was able to pick some aspects of their system during the World Cup with the Batang Gilas team especially on defense.
“Really happy for him that he's gone out there and got his own success,” said Cone. ”Imagine getting that team to the World Cup and beating up on Korea like they did and find a way to beat Japan.
“I liked the way they're playing defense. He took some stuff from, I may say, from what we did the World Cup, and I think that helped elevate him. Offensively, they were dynamic. But I always watch the games defensively so I thought he did a really good job. The guys did a really good job defensively as well.”
Regardless of how deep Batang Gilas would end up, Cone hopes for the best for Reyes in his coaching career after the Fiba Under-16 Asian campaign.
“It's my favorite expression. I'm tickled pink that he did really, really well. Really well. I'm so happy for him. I hope this now celebrates him and elevates him to another level beyond the shadow of his dad,” said Cone.
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